Only in America

A former North Carolina sheriff’s deputy is suing the police department, claiming he was fired for following the “Billy Graham Rule.” Under the Graham Rule, now also associated with Vice President Mike Pence, men decline to be alone with women other than their wife. Manuel Torres, 51, said his “sincere religious belief” motivated his refusal to ride with female trainees in a patrol car, so he should not have been fired.

White visitors to former slave plantations are objecting in travel-site reviews to the tours’ heavy emphasis on slavery. One reviewer who toured the McLeod Plantation in South Carolina complains of being “subjected to a lecture aimed to instill guilt.” Another writes that “we didn’t come to hear a lecture on how the white people treated slaves.”

New White House pick for intel chief

President Trump tapped retired Adm. Joseph Maguire, a onetime Navy SEAL, to serve as acting Director of National Intelligence last week. Trump’s first choice, Rep. John Ratcliffe (R-Texas), withdrew from consideration after critics charged that the fierce partisan had exaggerated his counterterrorism experience. Maguire, director of the National Counterterrorism Center since June 2018, was widely deemed to be a more politically neutral pick. The vacancy came after intelligence chief Dan Coats resigned following months of clashes with Trump over the threat of Russian election interference and North Korea’s nuclear ambitions. Coats’ deputy, career intelligence officer Sue Gordon, had been floated as a replacement, but was also forced out by the White House.